Tech for all?

When the St. Paul public school district hired Dell last year to design an online home for the its digital tools, one thing was clear: The district's infrastructure wasn't ready.

Beyond the $4.3 million Dell contract, the district would need to invest in major software and hardware upgrades. During this school year, such upgrades take up more than half of the $9 million-a-year, St. Paul-taxpayer-backed technology plan.

That has meant additional business for Dell, a longtime hardware provider for the district. As part of its contract to design a digital teaching and learning platform, the Texas-based company sized up the district's technology infrastructure and services last summer. It found room for improvement -- and offered to help with some of the issues it diagnosed.

The district has since bought an Internet firewall, as well as servers and computers from Dell. As St. Paul's go-to personal computer vendor, the company also might have an edge in an upcoming multimillion-dollar device purchase.

"There was no doubt that the decision to leverage technology for teaching and learning required much more than just the teaching and learning platform," said Ivar Nelson, the district's technology director.

Experts say a close relationship with a major technology vendor could deliver reliable service and price breaks for districts. Still, on a fast-changing and hypercompetitive education-technology market, they urge districts to reassess those relationships often.

In recent years, Dell has worked to branch out beyond its role as a computer maker popular among school districts. It has marketed software and services to districts that, like St. Paul, have come to see technology as a means to tailor instruction to diverse learning styles and skills.

The company is among a fast-growing array of tech providers looking to tap intense interest in education technologies across the country.

PLATFORM CONTRACT

In 2011, Dell first pitched to St.

District's top vendors

Dell tops the list of companies that have drawn the most dollars designated for St. Paul's Personalized Learning Through Technology plan so far this school year. The money comes from a local levy increase taxpayers approved in 2012.

1. Dell, Round Rock, Texas: $805,930

2. Apple, Cupertino, Calif.: $789,800

3. Now Micro, St. Paul: $364,700

4. En Pointe Technologies, Gardena, Calif.: $115,000

5. Achieve3000, Lakewood, N.J.: $99,999

6. Xiotech, Eden Prairie: $80,000

Paul schools a new digital platform, a type of product more districts were considering. In the classroom and beyond, students would be able to log on to Facebook-like pages for video lessons, assignments, quizzes and more -- all while the system helps teachers track their progress.

The following year, Dell emerged as an early frontrunner in a district search for such a system. While the search was underway, the company helped the district host two "Visioning Days," at which students and staff learned about trends in education technology.

Dell also offered the district some help with explaining the project to taxpayers ahead of a November 2012 levy referendum. On the eve of the vote to approve an eight-year levy increase for the district's Personalized Learning Through Technology plan, Dell posted online a research paper on St. Paul's interest in new education technologies "inspired by school innovation solutions from Dell."

In 2013, the district announced it had picked Dell. The company had offered one of the most expensive products, but it came with extensive teacher training and other support.

Included in the five-year platform contract was a $50,000 "readiness assessment" of St. Paul's IT services and infrastructure.

"They complemented us in many ways and challenged us in others," Kate Wilcox-Harris, the district's assistant superintendent for personalized learning, told the school board last fall.

District officials say they were aware they would need to make additional infrastructure investments before they could deploy the platform next school year. Digital learning materials, such as videos, hog memory, so the district would have to beef up server storage space. And schools also are upgrading wireless coverage so students in multiple classrooms could get online at the same time.

At Washington Technology Magnet, science teacher David Quosig said he and other colleagues already are experimenting with new ways to bring technology into the classroom. But wireless access has been a hurdle, especially with more students carrying cellphones that automatically connect to the Internet.

Sometimes, it can take up to 30 minutes for an entire classroom to get online, Quosig said: "The school wasn't designed to handle that kind of burden."

The district is taking advantage of a federal program to subsidize wireless coverage at low-income schools.

St. Paul is tapping a variety of vendors to help set the stage for the platform launch.

NEW FIREWALL, SERVERS

From Dell, the district purchased a $284,000 Internet firewall -- a product that keeps students out of noneducation websites and keeps intruders out of district email and other sites.

The district bought the system through the Midwestern Higher Education Compact, a 12-state partnership that vets products and negotiates prices on behalf of districts, colleges and others. At the Compact, procurement officer Nathan Sorensen said Dell's SonicWall -- one of three firewalls available -- is a reliable, moderately priced product.

The district also bought $27,000 worth of servers from Dell. It spent about $700,000 on 600 Dell and Apple computers loaded with software to upgrade school testing labs, though officials could not say this week how many of the devices came from each vendor.

Now, the district plans an even larger purchase of laptops and tablets to widen student access to devices. Last fall, it said devices bought this school year would come from the district's procurement catalog -- a list of approved devices dominated by Dell and Apple.

But with the deal expected to far exceed $2 million, Nelson said, the district may put the purchase up for bid.

St. Paul's current choice of tablet is the iPad, but it's trying out other options: The district recently bought 45 Dell tablets for one of its middle schools.

Officials stress students, teachers and parents will be able to access the Dell platform on any brand and type of device. Meanwhile, the district said it is considering other recommendations from the Dell assessment, which the company says can deliver significant savings over time.

'A RESOURCE TO THE DISTRICT'

Dell says it wants to help the district find the right solutions to upgrade its infrastructure and services -- whether they come from Dell or other vendors.

"We are here as a resource to the district and to ensure that they have what they need to successfully implement and manage a high-value learning platform," Dell said in an email.

The district also is getting a follow-up, $12,000 assessment of its IT services from a St. Paul-based consultant called Highland IT Strategies.

Experts say any district setting out to make larger use of classroom technology has to start by upgrading wireless coverage and Internet security.

"We see districts that try to build the infrastructure as they go along with the projects, and we find they are often not successful," said Julie Carter, the former Minnetonka Public Schools technology director, who now works for a Washington, D.C.-based consultant. "If you don't have the infrastructure in place, your students and teachers are not going to have a good experience."

Infrastructure assessments from vendors are common these days, said Tammy Stephens, a veteran education technology researcher and consultant. Sometimes, districts will get free or low-cost assessments from several vendors to compare their recommendations and sales pitches. Some bring in independent consultants who are not selling products, but those studies can be costly.

To Kate Conners, a technology-enhanced learning specialist at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey School of Public Affairs, it can be easier and cheaper sometimes to lean on a major vendor for a slew of products and services. That's as long as districts beware of "vendor lock-in."

"Dell can take a lot off your plate," Conners said. "The other side of that coin is you are with Dell for a long time. If something new and innovative comes along, it might be too difficult and costly to migrate."

Dell tops the list of companies that have drawn the most dollars designated for St. Paul's Personalized Learning Through Technology plan so far this school year. The money comes from a local levy increase taxpayers approved in 2012.